News

Why we cost less than open source

Berlin, Dec 18, 2009

Companies looking for a reporting solution often ask our support and sales team why they should choose i-net Clear Reports instead of an open source product. In their latest research findings, the Gartner Research predicts that open source reporting and business intelligence solutions will grow five-fold through 2012. Here are the main reasons why i-net Clear Reports is actually the more cost-efficient choice, yielding a much higher return on your investment.

1. Established company and product

Our company started software development in the mid 90's and has more than 5,000 satisfied customers in around 70 countries. The most successful product in our line-up is the i-net Clear Reports reporting solution which is about to be published in its tenth generation, making it a mature, seasoned, stable product.

2. Outstanding support

Our free standard support for all our products is already high-quality and low-latency. Nearly all support requests are answered within two business days. In addition, we offer an exclusive 24h support for our premium customers. This ensures high-quality standards for our products and their continued development. Combined with short release cycles of 8 to 10 weeks, we are able to frequently offer new features, bug fixes and feature improvements to all of our customers.

In order to receive support anywhere close to this in the open source sector you will be looking at tens of thousands in costs per year.

3. Competitive pricing

Many people think open source means “free as in beer”. This may work if you have the resources to have someone with the time and ability learn how to use and maintain the product.

In most cases, however, you will want an easy-to-install solution without having to invest too many resources. You will also want high-quality and fast support in case you run into problems. Of course, professional support exists for open source solutions. But you might be surprised by how much this costs.

“Although the average size deal for an open-source BI contract remains approximately $30,000 for a yearly subscription, some contracts repeatedly exceed $500,000 for a multiyear support subscription, which is in the same ballpark as many commercial counterparts.”Gartner Research Group (emphasis added)